


A Little Less 'High School Drama', Please

by KirstieJ



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M, Steve Carlsberg is a Jerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirstieJ/pseuds/KirstieJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos wants an experienced outsider's opinion on Night Vale, so who else to turn to but Steve Carlsberg? Of course, Steve has something up his sleeve, and usually that isn't so great for one radio host. </p>
<p>Carlos is oblivious, Steve Carlsberg is a jerk, and Cecil's emotions show in a really physical way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Less 'High School Drama', Please

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in a "What if Carlos didn't listen to the radio" universe, as stated within the story! 
> 
> Just to let folks know, in this particular work, Cecil's natural skin colour isn't mentioned. It changes, anyway. He's white-haired and purple eyed, but that's it. Oh, and he's taller than Carlos. 
> 
> Not sure if I'll add an epilogue or something. Time will tell.

Arranging his things on the desk, Carlos looked over his glasses at the man across the table from him. He had heard a lot about this guy, from various Night Vale residents. Secondary research was helpful, of course, but Carlos was eager to talk to the man himself.

This man was none other than Steve Carlsberg.

Steve, like Carlos himself, had grown up outside of Night Vale. He figured, if anyone, he could relate to Steve. His reputation aside, he might be able to offer some opinions on things that other people in Night Vale could not, so, Carlos got in contact and asked him if they could chat. Steve politely accepted, so they were off to a good start.

"Thank you for being here," Carlos said, clearing his throat.

"Oh, it's a pleasure. Thank you for asking me over," Steve smiled, eyes kind. Really, Carlos couldn't see why everyone disliked the man.

Carlos smiled back at him, then picked up his clipboard and a pen, clicking it. He looked back up to see a horrified expression on Steve's face, which took him aback.

"I-is there something wrong?"

"What are you doing with that?"

"Um. I was going to write down anything noteworthy, why?"

Steve groaned and rolled his eyes. Okay, maybe Carlos was wrong about giving this guy a chance. Still, no snap judgments.

Steve leaned in and whispered, "Writing utensils have been outlawed. I know it's dumb, but, still, I don't particularly want to end up detained, do you?"

"Oh. They have? When?"

"Rather recently. Don't you listen to the radio?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows at Carlos.

"Not usually. I don't have the time, and even when it's on I can't work and pay attention to it at the same time, so I tune it out."

"Oh," Steve sat up a little straighter, obviously surprised. "It just seemed you were pretty close to the radio host, y'know."

"He helps me get the word out, and sometimes tries to explain things to me. A little ironic, I guess, since I'm supposed to be the one doing the explaining. That's about it, though. I guess I'd consider us friends."

"He's a dick," Steve said, quickly. Carlos raised his eyebrows a bit. "Seriously. He trash-talks me on his show if I say anything even remotely critical of this town. I'm surprised he doesn't do the same to you, given you're an outsider too," he added.

"Oh. Well. He doesn't, then? Trash-talk me?"

"Nope. He seems kinda fond of you, I guess." (an understatement, but alas)

"But he does talk about me, on his show?" Carlos was intrigued. Does everybody in Night Vale, but him, listen to the radio?

"Occasionally. Usually reporting what you tell him to," (not a complete lie, on Steve's part) Steve waves his hand. "This meeting isn't supposed to be about Cecil and his show, though, is it?"

"Oh, uh, of course not. If I can't take notes, do you mind if I record this? I'd type it out on my cell, but it's almost dead."

"You can record it, I don't mind," Steve flashed another kind smile. Carlos smiled back, again, and went on to ask some questions about Steve's time in Night Vale.

Overall, the interview isn't directly helpful, but it will give Carlos a few more things to think about when he conducts research and the importance of certain things in Night Vale. And, it was nice to talk to somebody outside of his team that wasn't from around here for a while.

Carlos stops the recording and stands up to shake Steve's hand. "It was a pleasure."

"Oh, you're too kind."

Carlos grinned. "I suppose I'll have to pay attention to the radio more now, huh?"

"Oh. Well, you wouldn't want it to interfere with your work, hm? If you'd like, I could take note of anything that might be relevant to your work, and just tell you the information after the broadcast, instead of you having to sit there listening the entire time."

"Huh. That might work, I suppose. It would be better than being uninformed. But, I won't ask you to do that out of the kindness of your heart."

"It would be no trouble. I listen every day, anyway."

"If you insist, I definitely wouldn't say no."

"Okay," Steve smiled, making his way to the door. He opened it, then turned, "Say, Carlos?"

"Yes?" Carlos looked up from a paper, secretly in mild distress over this new outlaw on writing utensils he learned of.

"We should get dinner sometime, maybe."

Carlos's eyes widened a little. Was there an implication in Steve's tone? It seemed like there was an implication in Steve's tone. "Um. That would be nice."

Steve's face visibly brightened. "Are you free, well, ever?"

"Um.." stop umming Carlos, "I'm off Friday."

"Okay. How about we meet somewhere, around 4:30?"

"Big Rico's? It's close and easy."

"Done. I'll see you then." With a wink, Steve walked out the door and shut it behind him.

Carlos looked down to his papers, trying to figure out where he'd been. It'd be years since he'd gone on a date, science could wait, there's no way he could focus. Once his heart calmed down, Carlos collected his things and left the lab to go upstairs to his little apartment, silently freaking.

A few days passed by, with Steve diligently reporting the newscasts of Cecil Palmer to Carlos daily. Carlos couldn't get over how sweet Steve was to him, really. Now more than ever he didn't understand the local hatred of the man. He supposed that, maybe, Steve and Night Vale just didn't go together well. It was totally possible they just weren't a fit.

At 4:00pm on Friday, Carlos fixed his hair in the mirror, made sure he was wearing something casually nice, and brushed his teeth. He was always running late for social things, and he hadn't been on a date in a long time, so he was going to make sure he made a good impression with this one. If anything, he'd be early.

Carlos was early. He arrived at 4:20, allowing him to stand around like an idiot for ten minutes without a date.

At 4:23, he heard a familiar voice call his name from behind. "Carlos, hi!"

"Oh, hey, Cecil." Carlos looked Cecil up and down, mostly because his bright pink shoes drew Carlos's eyes downward, and he had to make his way back up. The purple pinstriped pants did look good with the suspenders, though. And the fact he was wearing clunky headphones around his neck was pretty cute. Oh, god, he's about to go on a date with someone and he's checking out a friend? Awful, Carlos.

"My, you look even better than usual!" So, they're both focussed on each other's looks.

"Uh, thanks. You look nice, too."

Was Cecil blushing? "Thank you!" Cecil genuinely looked touched, at the very least. "I don't see you here very often."

"Oh, no, I usually eat alone. I'm meeting somebody."

"Ah. Does this have to do with Science?" Cecil's eyes glinted. Carlos was always mesmerized by the unnatural, deep, purple they were. Only unnatural to him, of course. Night Vale residents probably thought Cecil's eyes were average.

"No. Personal reasons."

"Oh." Carlos was pretty sure Cecil's voice dropped, which surprised him. He seemed the type to be into gossip. This was a pleasant surprise, because Carlos didn't like nosiness. Despite what Steve said, he'd give Cecil the benefit of the doubt about being a dick. Everyone said Steve was a dick, and he was perfectly nice.

"Heh. Yeah," Carlos shrugged a little, not sure where to bring the conversation next. Cecil was cracking his knuckles, one by one. He seemed nervous, not that Carlos was all that great at reading people, least of all a Night Vale citizen.

They both turned to the door when it opened again, though, he bell ringing and someone else bustling in.

"Crap," he panted. "Carlos! Sorry I'm late," Steve pushed his hair back, catching his breath.

"I-it's okay. Time is a weird thing- are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's not get into this," Steve walked up to Carlos and took his hand. Carlos just looked at him, concerned. Steve glanced around, just noticing Cecil's presence next to his date.

Cecil cleared his throat, "Steve."

"Cecil," he countered.

"Do you have any information that would benefit the rest of Night Vale's population? My evening show is at 6:00."

"I'm a little busy here," Steve said, shaking the hand still holding Carlos's. "Kinda on a date."

Cecil's face went from stony to... something very different. Carlos had no idea what the look on Cecil's face was, but it felt like a punch to his gut. "A.. date. With Carlos. The Scientist."

"He's not the window-washer, now, is he?"

Carlos squeezed Steve's hand, quietly speaking, "Be civil, please."

"Right, of course. Yes, Cecil. I'm on a date with Carlos, the Scientist. You can announce that on your radio show, perhaps."

"I- uh-. Um." Cecil looked from Steve to Carlos. This time, Carlos was pretty sure he could pick out some hurt in that expression. Hurt? He's not sure why Cecil would be hurt. Maybe.. them being friends, he expected Carlos to tell him about this? Maybe because he hates Steve so much, he feels Carlos is taking sides. That might be it.

Carlos cleared his throat, this time, "If I could, uh, give my opinion, Steve?"

"Yes?" Steve smiled that brilliant little smile at him. Carlos smiled back.

"If something happened, and it's urgent, we should probably get to the bottom of it now. If there's something I could do, I'd really like to. And Cecil needs to keep the rest of Night Vale informed."

"Oh, um, o-on second thought, the evening show will probably be cancelled, C-Carlos."

"Huh?" Carlos looked back over to Cecil. He looked hurt, for sure, and scared, somehow. "Why?"

Cecil shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll leave you two to your d.. pizza."

"See you, Cecil," Steve called as he turned to leave Big Rico's. "I'll tell you later what happened."

"Is he okay? I feel like we should go after him. I know you two dislike each other, but..."

"Oh, don't worry about it. This isn't atypical for a Night Vale citizen. Maybe he got a vision about his impending doom. Or somebody else's."

"Okay," Carlos still looked uneasy. He's not every going to get the image of Cecil's facial expression out of his head.

He eventually loosened up, though, long enough to eat pizza and have a pleasant date Steve. Steve walked him home, afterward, and he pecked Carlos on the cheek. Steve asked him if he wanted to go to ice cream the next night. Carlos agreed. Carlos then hugged him before disappearing inside.

According to Steve, he was going to get in contact with Cecil after the date, to explain the breathless entrance to the pizza shop. Carlos couldn't help but want to talk to Cecil himself, though, and it was well before 6:00, so he picked up his cell. Not missing a beat, Carlos dialed Cecil's number. It dawned on him, then, that he knew it by heart.

"Hello?" Immediately, Cecil sounded miserable, like he was sick or something.

"Cecil? It's Carlos. I'm, uh, calling for personal reasons. You seemed really shaken in Big Rico's. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"You did?" Cecil's voice sounded a little uplifted. On the other end of the phone, Cecil was sitting in a pile of pillows on his couch, wrapped tightly in a bundle of blankets. Had he not been texting an intern with instructions on what to do for the evening show, he wouldn't have had his phone or picked it up.

"Yeah, of course. Steve suggested you might've had some sort of premonition, maybe? Is that what happened?"

Cecil cleared his throat, his voice giving way to bitterness in his tone "No offence, since you're obviously involved with Steve, somehow, but he knows approximately jack shit. He should know I'm not a seer and I don't get visions, considering we had that discussion, like, twice."

"Oh. Well, he might've forgotten. What did happen, then?"

"Nothing. It's okay, Carlos. I'm okay. Thank you for your concern." Now Cecil's voice didn't have much emotion in it at all.

"Uh, if you say so... If you wanna talk about it, I mean, I'm here. I'm not really good at advice and I'm busy a lot but, we're friends, Cecil. I know you and Steve don't get along, but I don't want that to get in the way of us."

Cecil blinked, looking down at the purple tattoos on his wrists. He knew Carlos meant 'us being friends' but, still, that hurt. Everything hurt. Love is pain. "Okay. Well, I'm not sure how long this friendship will last if you happen to start spouting nonsense and blasphemy, but as long as you continue to be sweet and stick to facts, we should be perfectly fine, Carlos."

"That's well enough. Are you going to do your show at 6:00?"

"No."

"Awh. I was going to tune in."

"You'll have to catch it tomorrow, sorry," Cecil sounded a little sad, right there. Carlos might've imagined it.

"Okay, then. I'll see you around, Cecil."

"Goodbye, Carlos."

Carlos sighed when he hung up. Something felt very off, but he had no idea what. He figured he'd do some work until bedtime, and he'd probably feel better in the morning.  
At around 9:30, though, Carlos gave up on work and went up to the roof of his building to lie on his back and stare at the stars. He did it a little too often for his own liking, but it helped him think, so he used that as an excuse. He also found it funny that he had to make excuses to himself. He set his own hours, he doesn't get any less work done, why would he feel guilty for taking time for himself? Oh, humans were interesting creatures.

Carlos retired to bed earlier than usual by at least a few hours, curling up on his side under one thick blanket. He was out like a light in minutes.

Meanwhile, Cecil was up all night, inspecting his currently obsidian skin. Very few things could put him in a mood strong enough to change the colour of his skin. The object of his affection dating his least-favourite person in town was one of them, evidently. His tattoos shone purple on his skin, which made him feel a little bit better. He imagined he looked sorta good like this, the rest of his features the same. Shockingly white hair and violet eyes made brighter by his coal-hued skin, perhaps? It should go away in a few days, hopefully.

What if it didn't go away until Carlos and Steve broke up? What if they never broke up?

Cecil shivered and tugged the blankets tighter around him. He didn't like this. Why would Carlos even ask about the reasons behind Cecil's reaction? Surely he knew Cecil was in love with him. If possible, Cecil thought his skin might've gone darker just thinking about it. He needed to take his mind off this.

During all broadcasts the next day, Cecil's voice was the most monotone it had ever been.  
In his lab, Carlos tried to listen to the main one of the day, but it was really hard to pay attention to such a bland voice. Cecil was so vibrant in person. He couldn't talk like this all the time, Carlos figured. Maybe it just had something to do with yesterday.

At the end of the show, though, something caught Carlos's attention.

"And, on a more personal note, for those friends of mine who never got to experience my skin looking as it is now, that is, completely black, it surely is a sight to behold. I promised intern Kathy I would show her, and though she is no longer here to see, I know I have other friends who have expressed interest previously. I have to stop by Ralph's soon, so you can probably see me there..."

Carlos put down the pen he was almost about to use in his distracted state. Cecil's skin changed colour? That was, most definitely, scientifically interesting. He quickly grabbed a few things and went to stake out the Ralph's.

It didn't take Carlos long to spot Cecil once he showed up. He seemed to give off a negative aura. Carlos tried to ignore this and greeted him with a smile.

"Cecil!"

"Hello, Carlos," Cecil said, eyes heavily lidded as he pushed his cart forward.

"Is this a bad time?"

"I'm not sure what constitutes as a 'bad' time. Time is time, neither good nor bad."

"Uh."

"Let's go with no. Do you need to speak to me?"

"Well, I actually caught your radio show today, and I heard that bit about your skin. It's pretty fascinating, sooo..."

"Oh, right," Cecil looked down at himself. He was in something snazzy with short sleeves. He liked to dress nice when he was feeling down, try to combat the negative feelings by looking good on the outside.

Carlos looked hopeful. "I'm sorry, I know I'm imposing. I can leave you alone to shop, I don't want to be a bother."

"No, no, it's fine. You have questions?"

"Um, yes. When did this first occur?"

"This time, or the first time ever."

"Oh, uh, both. If you don't mind." Cecil looked around for a minute.

"Could we do this somewhere private-er. More private?"

"Yeah, of course! I don't want it to go away, though. Well, I mean, it doesn't really matter. Unless it's totally not creepy for me to take a sample of your skin, which it probably definitely is."

Cecil sort of smiled. Carlos was so so so adorable. Why, gods, why was he Steve's and not Cecil's? Steve didn't deserve this imperfect perfection. "It would be fine by me. I'll shop quickly, and we can go back to your lab?"

"That would be great. Cecil, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. You're too nice to me."

"I try to be nice to those that aren't racist, or jerks. Or racist jerks."

"Of course. Um. Do you want me to pick up some of the stuff on your list, to make things go quicker?"

Cecil looked at him for a second. Carlos felt his heart beat faster. It was so weird, what Cecil's looks did to him. He always felt like he was fumbling around Cecil, making a complete ass of himself. "If you don't mind, that would be great of you." He rattled off a couple things for Carlos to pick up for him, and Carlos quickly went to get those things.

The shopping was done in no time. Carlos offered to stuff some of Cecil's groceries in a fridge in his lab, one with no weird things or body parts that they use for snacks. Cecil thanked Carlos and they stored his things, temporarily.

Carlos did take some samples from Cecil's skin. "Do you mind coming back once your skin goes back to normal for me to take some comparison samples?" Carlos looked back to Cecil, who was sitting on the silver surface of the lab counter.

"I don't mind at all." Cecil smiled, wider this time.

Carlos looked at him, arms crossed. He walked back over to stand in front of him, for once the taller of the two, "Cecil?"

"Yes?" Carlos uncrossed his arms in order to take Cecil's hand and hold it up to his eyes. "You skin looks... slightly greyer."

"Maybe I'm snapping out of it," Cecil shrugged. Carlos gently returned Cecil's hand to his side, "hmming" in the way only a true scientist could.

"So, when did this happen?"

"Last night. Not long after I left Big Rico's."

"Do you know why?"

"Yes."

Carlos looked at him, expectant. Cecil said nothing. "Are you going to tell me?"

"I'd rather not."

Carlos cleared his throat. "Okay, that's fine. Am I right in assuming it's related to personal matters?"

"You are."

"Is it always?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to talk about the first time it happened?"

"I don't remember the event itself. Only feeling hurt and being, well, pitch black."

"I see. Has it happened between then and now?"

"Yes," Cecil took a deep breath, going into more detail on the second time it happened. Carlos listened intently, nodding along, and bouncing questions back to make sure he understood. Cecil knew people heard to him all the time on the radio, but this was different. Carlos was listening, and this wasn't the news. This was a personal story about something fairly horrific.

"And, once, my skin turned purple. It was the angriest I've ever been and I never want it to happen again. It didn't last long and I'm not talking about it beyond this, I just thought you should know."

"Thank you, Cecil. I'm sure none of this is easy to talk about. You're amazing for telling me anything about this in the first place."

"Oh, I'm not amazing. I just want you to help you with your Scien-"

A knock on the door cut Cecil off. The door opened a moment later to reveal Steve Carlsberg, and Cecil's skin definitely darkened, Carlos saw it. What animosity.

Steve looked at the two of them, crossing his arms. His gaze focussed on Cecil, "I should've known! I should've known you'd have something to do with this."

"Me? What did I do?"

Carlos went pale. "Oh, shit. I-. Fuck. No, this has nothing to do with Cecil. I just lost track of time, Steve, I'm sorry."

"And you ignored your phone becaause?"

"I left it in my jacket," Carlos sighed. "I'm sorry, honestly."

Cecil looked back and forth between the two, face back to an emotionless state. Carlos ran a hand through his hair, "I was supposed to be getting ice cream with him."

"Oh. Well. You aren't."

"Brilliant observation," Carlos sighed again.

"Sorry," Cecil sucked his teeth.

"You don't have to be sorry, you're an uninvolved party."

"I'm not so sure. He likes to meddle in my affairs. Cannot stand to see me happy."

"That is not true! Carlos approached me in the Ralph's. He wanted to know about my skin," Cecil glared at Steve.

"Your skin, really?"

"Yes."

"Is that true," Steve looked at Carlos, "you ditched me to research the person who hates me most?"

"He wants to be my friend," Cecil interjected, before Carlos could open his mouth.

Carlos held up his hands. "Okay, I think we all need to calm down. Everything Cecil's saying is true, I did ask him if I could research his skin, and I do want to be friends with him. I don't see why I can't maintain a positive relationship with the both of you. I'm not going to ask you to spend time together or anything."

Steve frowned, "Well, no, I thought you were on my side. This entire town is against me, but I thought I could at least count on you."

"I will be here for you, but, at the same time, I'm not isolating myself from the other people I've made friends with."

Steve huffed, opened his mouth, closed his mouth, shook his head, then looked at Cecil. "You always get what you want, don't you?"

"Actually, not all that often."

Carlos furrowed his eyebrows, "Steve, seriously, what does this have to do with Cecil?"

"It actually has a lot to do with Cecil, you're just too blind to see it. Or, rather, too deaf to hear it."

"What?" Carlos narrowed his eyes, titling his head.

"He's in love with you, you moron. If you ever listened to his show, you'd know it. He talks about you and your stupid hair all the time."

"Wh-"

"I do not talk about him all the time! And his hair is not stupid, it is pure perfection!" Cecil was practically hissing.

"His hair is awful and you are awful."

"You take that back! His hair is the most beautiful thing to ever grace this town!"

Carlos ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Wait, can we slow down. I... I thought you liked me, Steve."

Steve shrugged, "Ah, you're alright. I mostly wanted to crush Cecil's pathetic heart. When you mentioned you don't listen to his show, I saw the perfect opportunity. I'm not generally interested in men, really, but the one date wasn't so bad. I wish I could've drawn things out a little longer, but, hey, I got Cecil so depressed his skin changed colour."

"So, you asked me out in order to hurt Cecil?" Carlos looked angry. Carlos looked really angry. "I've been played with before, I don't care about that, but Cecil doesn't deserve that."

"Actually, he does. He's treated me like trash for ages!"

"You started this is school- but," Cecil quickly got control over his tone, taking a breath before going on, "this is no matter you should be dragging Carlos into." He reached out to place a hand on Carlos's slightly balled fist, now looking at Carlos, "he isn't worth it."

Carlos swallowed. "You should probably leave, Steve."

Steve looked at them both, then jerked his head. "Sure. I'm satisfied with what I've done, anyway. All the best to the both of you." He left without another word.

Carlos looked back to Cecil, whose skin was slowly going back to the grey it had been before Steve came around, and even lighter.

He glanced down, noticing Cecil's hand still on top of his own. Cecil quickly drew it back, as if he'd been burned, "Sorry."

"N-no, don't be. I-I didn't mind," Carlos felt his heart start beating faster, again. "So, uh... was what he said true?"

"Um.. which part? I assume you trust his story about trying to get back at me."

"Yeah, I get that, I meant, you.. l-loving me?"

"Oh, right. Uh. Love is a strong word. It is also, yeah, what I used on the radio to describe my feelings for you the moment we met."

Carlos nodded. Cecil's skin was continuing to fade to a weird ghostly-white. "So, you don't mind if I, uh..."

"You, uh?" Carlos looked from Cecil's eyes to his mouth, and, suddenly, leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cecil's, blush hot on his face.

"Oh," Cecil murmured after Carlos pulled back. "That wasn't entirely clear, Carlos, I might need you t-"

This time, Cecil wrapped his arms around Carlos's neck, and Carlos reached forward to brace his hand on the counter next to where Cecil sat.

"Got it that time," Cecil smirked. Carlos chuckled.

"I've never believed in love at first sight," Carlos murmured, "but my heart always beats faster around you, I'm a nervous wreck. I haven't felt this way since I was twenty, with the first person I ever fell for, and even that was gradual."

"Are you saying you love me too?"

"Um. Maybe. Sorta. I really don't know, Cecil. What I do know is I've never felt so attracted to someone before, and I don't mean that in the physical way. I'm not sure if I'd call it love, because, well, we're not even dating, but. Oh, god, I don't know where I'm going with this, stop me, please."

Cecil laughed, pressing his hands to the sides of Carlos's face. It was an interesting contrast, with his hands paper-white as they were, and Carlos's usual lovely dark skin.

"I don't care what you call it, as long as you return my feelings. Also, we can fix the 'not dating' thing."

"Cecil, I'm an awful boyfriend. I'm nervous, I miss dates, I forget to call," Cecil frowned, thumb stroking Carlos's cheekbone, "but."

"But?"

"I think I want to be selfish. If you will, put up with me? Let me be your awful boyfriend?"

Cecil grinned, "You can most certainly be my boyfriend, Carlos. We can work on the 'awful' part together, and you won't feel selfish."

Cecil pressed his face to Carlos's chest. Carlos looked relieved. He felt wild. He asked a guy to be his boyfriend before they'd even been on a date. Nothing about this isn't like high school. The entire situation, minus maybe the skin changing colour thing, with Steve dating Carlos to get back at Cecil, who secrets pined over Carlos. Yep. Totally high school.

Carlos doesn't care, really, how it happened. He and Cecil have chemistry where so many past relationships were lacking, so he's willing to dive right into this and hope for the best.

Cecil let go of him soon enough, and Carlos took his hands, standing back, "So, I'm assuming this is normal?"

"Two men being boyfriends is perfectly normal, Carlos."

"Not what I meant. This," Carlos held up Cecil's hands, "your skin looks like bleach."

"Oh, right. Yes, it's normal. My skin will fill in to its original colour, or at least somewhere around that tone. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?"

"Hopefully," Cecil smiled. "If not, you can figure out why!"

Carlos chuckled, and Cecil leaned in for another kiss.


End file.
